Movie Monday: 24 Hours of 240

This week's movie takes us back to ChumpCar World Series' 24-hour race at Spokane County Raceway, where one can get a taste of the trials, tribulations and triumphs of racing 24 consecutive hours.

The veteran Paul Newman's Revenge squad faces early engine trouble with their KA24DE-equipped Nissan 240SX (it's quite a looker for a crapcan, we might add), requiring them to stop and replace the motor's distributor. The repair leaves the team in 30th place of the race's 31 entries after just two hours.



From the in-car footage, one gets a sense not only of Spokane County's tremendous speeds but also of its potential hazards for those who stray from the track's pavement. It remains a formidable track in the daylight and these Chumps drive it in the dark without much in the way of track lighting.

Inevitably, the night-racing footage displays far less than what the driver sees, but it's still obvious that the night presents an intimidating challenge for all endurance racers. In the dark's seclusion and vastness, the drivers tire and struggle at times, but the car and the team persevere.

The video continues and we see how 24 hours of racing can forgive teams who keep their car on the track. Paul Newman's Revenge clawed their way up the timing sheet to finish eighth overall.



The video's editor doesn't overexplain; he or she merely shows you how it is. This is textbook "Show, don't tell" simplicity and we like it.